


Tiefling's Terrible Threes

by Talinor



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Family Shenanigans, Post-Canon, Tiefling De Rolo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 22:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20454602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Then she turned three, and something within her changed. It all started the night after her birthday. The whole family had gone to bed for the night, and the estate was still under the moon’s star-speckled blanket. She vaguely remembered stirring when she heard some muffled sound from down the hall, but the soft assurance of her husband going to check kept her securely in bed.For another minute or so. She woke up to a hand gently shaking her shoulder. “Darling,” Percy whispered. “I’m sorry for waking you, but… Abi’s crawling on the ceiling.”





	Tiefling's Terrible Threes

**Author's Note:**

> this is short and messy but i had a Mighty Need to write this after that oneshot.
> 
> inspired by: https://twitter.com/japhers/status/1108454570563375104
> 
> enjoy!

All things considered, Vex’ahlia shouldn’t have been surprised. With the… _ varied _ adventures Vox Machina went through, unforeseen side effects were bound to arise sooner or later. So when she first laid eyes on her second daughter, she didn’t scream at the muted red skin. She didn’t sob at the horns that curled around her little pointed ears.

She smiled, for her baby was safe, alive, and well. That’s all she could ever ask of the world.

They named her Abishai. Though a name spoken in fear as a label for demons, she preferred the kinder meaning- ‘gift’. And she was. For quite some time, Abi was an absolute delight. She never screamed. Rarely cried. Just looked up at you with those big, curious golden eyes and cooed like you were her favorite person in the world. Even when she learned to talk.

Then she turned three, and something within her changed. It all started the night after her birthday. The whole family had gone to bed for the night, and the estate was still under the moon’s star-speckled blanket. She vaguely remembered stirring when she heard some muffled sound from down the hall, but the soft assurance of her husband going to check kept her securely in bed.

For another minute or so. She woke up to a hand gently shaking her shoulder. “Darling,” Percy whispered. “I’m sorry for waking you, but… Abi’s crawling on the ceiling.”

That was only the first instance. Abi would be her calm and quiet self one minute, and then the next she’d be crawling up the walls screeching in Infernal. Sometimes she’d go so far as to cast thaumaturgy on any nearby window shutters or doors to open and close them rapidly. There’d be no warning signs. It was a storm they were utterly unprepared for at first, but one they weathered regardless.

In hindsight, they really should have looked into how raising a tiefling might be different than a quarter-elf or human. But they didn’t until the sign that it was true started wreaking havoc on their daughter. Percy poured himself into book after book trying to find a way to help her. Not a cure or restoration, for Abi wasn’t sick or cursed. Just in a… very unique developmental phase where they truly tapped into their bloodline. There was nothing to do but adapt to it.

Thankfully, both of them were _ very good _ at that. In almost no time, they had a system.

No matter what she was doing, she’d drop it. All Percy or Vesper would have to do is come up and tell her something along the lines of, “It’s happening.” Percy would take over whatever she had been doing, and she’d make a beeline for Abi’s room. In order to get Abi to come down in that state, she needed the incentive only one special friend could give every time.

Then she’d go to the affected room and hold up the well-loved plush bear. He was missing an eye, his nose, and had a hole through his ear, but Abi loved him regardless. “Abi, darling,” she’d say in Abyssal. “Trinkie needs a hug. Could you come down and give him one?”

It worked without fail every time. She wasn’t sure if it was the bear, or the Abyssal. She hypothesized it was both. Though young tieflings weren’t supposed to know the language, it likely still brought comfort as a demonic language. Percy was learning it, but he wasn’t quite there to step in for Vex yet.

Abi would still have that wild look in her eyes, but she’d stop. She’d crawl down and to where her mother was sitting cross-legged on the floor. There’d be a moment of hesitation, but she’d crawl in and take her beloved bear. Vex would hold her—not enough to feel like a trap—and keep her close. Finally, she’d sing a little personal lullaby. Just for Abi. Even in a harsher language like Abyssal, it sounded… beautiful.

_ “Be calm now, my little gift,_  
_ Your mother’s here to stay._ _ She’ll keep you adrift_   
_ Along the storming bay._   
_ Among the Whitestone trees _   
_ You will always be free. _   
_ Now, my dear, please _   
_ Give my gift back to me.” _

It wasn’t the best, but she never claimed to be a poet. She wasn’t certain if Abi even knew what she was saying, but it always seemed to work. That was the important part.

It was tough, but she wouldn’t trade her daughter for the world. Horns, difficulties with demon blood, and all.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to leave a comment! i adore feedback!  
my tumblr: squishy--squish  
my discord: MyBatteryisLowandIt'sGettingDark


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